Bechara v Bates

In the Federal Court of Australia, Ms Bechara sought an extension of time and leave to appeal the Federal Circuit Court's (FCC) refusal to reinstate her application for review of a sequestration order made by a Registrar of the FCC. The appeal from the FCC's decision was interlocutory and therefore required leave under the Federal Court Rules 2011. The primary legal issues were whether the FCC had the power to give a default judgment and if the FCC had acted in breach of procedural fairness. Ms Bechara also argued that Mr Bates, who appeared as a self-represented litigant but maintained that he should be recognised as counsel, should not be able to recover his costs.

The Court found that the FCC did have the power to give a default judgment under rule 13.03C of the FCC Rules in the context of an application for review of a sequestration order. The Court also found that the FCC did not act in breach of procedural fairness. The FCC was satisfied that Ms Bechara had reasonable notice of the hearing and had been given a reasonable opportunity to prosecute her case. The Court further found that the application for an extension of time should be dismissed as Ms Bechara had not provided an acceptable explanation for the delay and there was no prejudice to Mr Bates. The merits of the substantive appeal, if leave were granted, were also taken into account.

The application for an extension of time within which to seek leave to appeal was dismissed, and costs were reserved.